In mathematics, especially in algebraic geometry and the theory of complex manifolds, the adjunction formula relates the canonical bundle of a variety and a hypersurface inside that variety. It is often used to deduce facts about varieties embedded in well-behaved spaces such as projective space or to prove theorems by induction.
Adjunction for smooth varieties
Formula for a smooth subvariety
Let X be a smooth algebraic variety or smooth complex manifold and Y be a smooth subvariety of X. Denote the inclusion map by i and the ideal sheaf of Y in X by . The conormal exact sequence for i is
where Ω denotes a cotangent bundle. The determinant of this exact sequence is a natural isomorphism
where denotes the dual of a line bundle.
The particular case of a smooth divisor
Suppose that D is a smooth divisor on X. Its normal bundle extends to a line bundle on X, and the ideal sheaf of D corresponds to its dual . The conormal bundle is , which, combined with the formula above, gives
In terms of canonical classes, this says that
Both of these two formulas are called the adjunction formula.
Examples
Degree d hypersurfaces
Given a smooth degree hypersurface we can compute its canonical and anti-canonical bundles using the adjunction formula. This reads aswhich is isomorphic to .
Complete intersections
For a smooth complete intersection of degrees , the conormal bundle is isomorphic to , so the determinant bundle is and its dual is , showingThis generalizes in the same fashion for all complete intersections.
Curves in a quadric surface
embeds into as a quadric surface given by the vanishing locus of a quadratic polynomial coming from a non-singular symmetric matrix. We can then restrict our attention to curves on . We can compute the cotangent bundle of using the direct sum of the cotangent bundles on each , so it is . Then, the canonical sheaf is given by , which can be found using the decomposition of wedges of direct sums of vector bundles. Then, using the adjunction formula, a curve defined by the vanishing locus of a section , can be computed as
Poincaré residue
The restriction map is called the Poincaré residue. Suppose that X is a complex manifold. Then on sections, the Poincaré residue can be expressed as follows. Fix an open set U on which D is given by the vanishing of a function f. Any section over U of can be written as s/f, where s is a holomorphic function on U. Let η be a section over U of ωX. The Poincaré residue is the map
that is, it is formed by applying the vector field ∂/∂f to the volume form η, then multiplying by the holomorphic function s. If U admits local coordinates z1, ..., zn such that for some i, ∂f/∂zi ≠ 0, then this can also be expressed as
Another way of viewing Poincaré residue first reinterprets the adjunction formula as an isomorphism
On an open set U as before, a section of is the product of a holomorphic function s with the form . The Poincaré residue is the map that takes the wedge product of a section of ωD and a section of .
Inversion of adjunction
The adjunction formula is false when the conormal exact sequence is not a short exact sequence. However, it is possible to use this failure to relate the singularities of X with the singularities of D. Theorems of this type are called inversion of adjunction. They are an important tool in modern birational geometry.
The Canonical Divisor of a Plane Curve
Let be a smooth plane curve cut out by a degree homogeneous polynomial . We claim that the canonical divisor is where is the hyperplane divisor.
First work in the affine chart . The equation becomes where and . We will explicitly compute the divisor of the differential
At any point either so is a local parameter or
so is a local parameter. In both cases the order of vanishing of at the point is zero. Thus all contributions to the divisor are at the line at infinity, .
Now look on the line . Assume that so it suffices to look in the chart with coordinates and . The equation of the curve becomes
Hence
so
with order of vanishing . Hence which agrees with the adjunction formula.